I've Moved!

Just in case you need to find me and you are sad you can't...

I've moved to a new home!

www.back2happymom.com

Come see me... now!
:)

Friday Happies

I love Fridays.

Looooooove.

Here it is for today folks...

...and keep 'em on. All weekend long!


Happy Friday!
:)

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Le Chicken Salad

Because I had leftover chicken.

Because my clan is not great about leftover chicken.

Because I cannot bear to throw anything out.

May I present...


Chicken Salad

What you need:
 - chicken (I use leftover grilled chicken, rotisserie... but feel free to make it fresh too!)
 - celery stalks, finely diced
 - red onion, finely diced
 - cashews, roughly chopped
 - low fat mayo
 - paprika
 - garlic salt

What you do:

I realize I have not given any measurements above. The reason is, as I have said in recipes before, this is about what you like and how much you want to put in. Got enough chicken to feed a small army? Make enough for a few days for a family. Only a little? You got lunch for one :)

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl.

Don't be like me. LARGE bowl, so you can actually mix without things escaping!

And then you know what you can do with this?...

This...

Happy Eating!

:)

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Busy Hands: Ice Play

It's been hot.

Reeeally hot man.

The kids have been cranky.

Reeeally super-@*&! cranky.

What's a mother to do?...


PLAY WITH ICE!

What you need:
 - ice
 - a good blender or some other gadget that will shave your ice to snow consistency
 - food coloring

What you do:

Shave ice. Dump in bucket. Add food coloring. Let play. Sit back and enjoy...

This activity started at the table in a big plastic container, it then evolved into a build-your-own-snowball-then-eat-it-or-throw-it-around event.
Whatevs... they were happy, entertained and cooling off.
Success!

A simple sensory play idea that they thought was the bee's knees... lol!

I know the boy looks sad, but that's only because I wouldn't let him dump the entire thing in the pool... wah wah...

Happy Creating!

:)

P.S: don't forget to save some of that ice for a margarita :)

Please leave me a comment, I would love your feedback. Thanks!

Resolutions. Anytime. #2

Here I am again... resolving...

When I looked through my list today to pick one of the items to blog about, I wanted to write about them all!
They all seem so relevant on a daily basis and I wanted to shout them all from the rooftop. I also realized just then that that is exactly what I shouldn't do. This is something I have struggled with for years... no, not shouting (ok, yes... shouting), but what I mean is I have always tried to do it all. At once. Everything. Clean, cook, educate, discipline, work, eat right, be nice... ugh...
Inevitably, nothing worked out and I would bitch and moan and nag and cry about it. Why? Because you cannot fly 42 kites at once.

Well, at least I can't.

If you or someone you know can... then please come by my house. I will bake you a cake! :)

So, today I chose not to write about how to manage it all, but instead, how to pick ONE kite and smile while flying it high...


Resolution #2: STOP COMPLAINING!

This is me.

I am the complaints department.

And I hate it.

I hear it coming out of my mouth and before I can stop it, I have whined about yet another nothing.

Then I realized that this gal had figured it out...

She was getting shit done and smiling about it aaaand looked good doing it... bonus! Because when it comes down to it, shit does have to get done and sometimes (more often than not) you have to do it. End of story. So, why not just accept what's on your list, spare yourself the sob stories, tiny violins and lame excuses and just DO IT!

I know this may sound like tough love and maybe it is. But I learnt that all the amount of crying about a task on your to-do list won't make it go away (and what a waste of your time and energy). I also learnt that while I was stuck in my own sorry universe complaining, I was dragging the people I love around me into it to. That just wasn't fair.

Fact: There are dishes in the sink.
Fact: The dishes need to be cleaned.
Fact: I can get it done and NOT nag anyone else about it and it hasn't taken more than 10 minutes out of my day.
Fact: Everyone is happy and I haven't given my left arm or kidney for it.
Fact: There are now clean plates to eat off of.

That is just one small example. I am not saying to become the maid in your household, my kids and husband do their share too. So, if there is something I have to do... I do it. And I figure adding a smile to it would make the job go a little smoother. For me.

My list of things to do never goes away and it never will. Acceptance of this is a choice and once I chose to take it on with a smile, life became just a little more pleasant. Amazeballs.

I am still trying to figure out how this lady does it... perhaps I need a bird or bunny to sing with me. Maybe a squirrel in the rafters and a deer to help with laundry?... I dunno.

But until then, I choose to suck it up and smile, even when I don't like what's on my list. And just stop complaining about it. Cause... why?!
Not a bad lesson for my kids to grasp as well.

MONDAYS!

Dangnabbit!!...

Let me explain...

One stinkin' pound!
That's a one pound weigh gain from last week.
I was so hoping to finally land a zero between my numbers, but alas, two decadent restaurant visits this weekend put an abrupt stop to that. It was also about 685 degrees out this weekend, which made a bicycle ride seem like voluntary torture.

No matter, this is but a small bump. This is not an excuse for a binge or a delve into emotional eating beside the fridge. Just need to try even harder this week.

My mantra this week...

ZERO!
...as in... finally aiming to get a '0' in between my numbers on the scale.

More goals for this week?...
 - lay off the carbs
 - 2 days of weight training
 - 2 days of kickboxing/cardio
 - one bicycle ride
 - lean proteins
 - much vegetable and fruit
 - an ocean of water (minus the sodium)
  -  and a partridge in a pear treeeeee

Crossing my fingers for a productive week!


Happy Monday!
:)

Happy Friday... Again

School started.

Week is over.

Housecleaning done.

Rest beginning.

Workouts complete.

Weekend is coming.

Amen!

... is there any better reason than this?!

Happy Friday!
:)